Young people and justice

We have funded several projects investigating ways to improve the interaction of young people with the justice system.

For example, we supported the Commission on Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour, which has recently made a series of recommendations to reform the response to youth crime. The commission places restorative justice - requiring young offenders to face up to the harm they have done they have caused their victims and to make amends - at the heard of the its proposals.

We have worked with the NSPCC to improve the way young people are treated in criminal proceedings, specifically, to identify whether government commitments to young witnesses have been successfully translated into improved practice. 

We have funded an empirical study of anti-social interventions - ASB warnings, Acceptable Behaviour Contracts and Anti-Social Behaviour Orders - how effective are they as a way of directing young people away from the youth justice system?